'Pokemon Shuffle Mobile' For iOS & Android Now Available To Download

Pokémon Shuffle Mobile by The Pokemon Company is now available for iOS & Android. Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is a freemium puzzle game that was first released on the Nintendo 3DS.

Pokémon Shuffle Mobile features a puzzle game where battle wild Pokémon by lining up three or more Pokémon from the grid below.

The game features "lots of stages and lots of Pokémon", with additional stages and Pokémon planned for future updates.

In the game, you can move around Pokémon in a grid to line up matches of three or more. The more combinations you make, the better your score. You also have a limit to how many moves you can make to defeat the Pokémon you are battling. After defeating the Pokémon, you have the chance to catch it. Some Pokémon are easier to catch than others, but how many moves you had remaining will also play a factor. If you fail to catch a Pokémon, there will be a option to purchase a 'Great Poké Ball' to improve your chances. This costs in-game coins.

The game has a very 'cutesy' look and feel. Most of the problems, and downsides to the game are; your lives. They are not really lives, more like a token to play. It'll cost you one heart every time you play a stage. The max hearts that recharge is five. So, game play is quick and far between - as recharging takes a while.  You can always purchase more hearts in the game.

The other problem is the in-game coins. Together with the hearts, these two factors really hurt the game-play. You earn coins by playing and battling Pokémon. Coins can be used to purchase special power-ups or Poké Balls. The amount of coins you win is pretty low and it'll take a while to save up.

When you combine low capture rates of a lot of Pokémon, making replay and purchasing Poké Balls often required, the lack of time you can play for in one go, and the low payout of coins - the game to me feels like it pushes in-app purchases - if you want to have a good time playing.  This is often the problem with freemium games. I just don't know at this time, how far and how long you can really play for without feeling like you need put real money into this game. Maybe you won't ever need too. I don't know. I believe in-app purchases should enhance your game play experience, but not feel needed to play - and win. Let me know what you think, in the comments.





-> View Pokémon Shuffle Mobile on the iTunes App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad's or the Google Play Store for Android devices.